America’s Mayors: Put Us in Charge—Now
In the midst of a presidential election with two historically divisive and unlikable candidates, America’s mayors—accustomed to fighting through gridlock to get things done—have voted themselves most likely to succeed.
Borrowing a page from the old high school yearbook, Politico asked the cities' chief executives to have a little summer fun and rate each other in a variety of categories: most innovative, best rookie, most impressive turnaround, coolest performance in crisis, long-term presidential prospects and who should be running for the Oval Office—right now.
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On that last category, the overwhelmingly Democratic mayors achieved some consensus, naming Los Angeles’ Eric Garcetti on 27 percent of the ballots, followed by Mike Rawlings of Dallas with 15 percent, and Mick Cornett of Oklahoma City with 11 percent. The three mayors' cities are chasms apart in political culture, but their leadership styles share a few similarities—willingness to lead bipartisan initiatives, leading fast-growing cities and enjoying high popularity—that have earned them national accolades. Also getting attention for their executive function were Baltimore’s Stephanie Rawlings-Blake with 10 percent, narrowly outplacing New York’s Bill de Blasio, who was named on 8 percent of ballots.
The lighter-hearted questions were part of a larger survey that also addressed contentious issues of race and policing. This was Politico Magazine’s sixth quarterly Mayors Survey, part of the award-winning “What Works” series. Seventy-one mayors across the country participated, from Burlington to Dallas, San Francisco to Boulder and Tampa to Maui. Reflecting the generally blue-hue of the city halls, respondents were largely Democratic—over 80 percent.
Asked to imagine which mayor would become president by 2020 or 2024 (a variant on the question of who should be running “right now,” above) almost a quarter of mayors again gave first prize to—no surprise—Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles. In distant second was former Newark mayor and current New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (who was on a shortlist for Hillary Clinton’s running mate) at 6 percent. Several other former mayors—Tim Kaine (who is suddenly busy) and Michael Bloomberg received nods, as well as current mayors Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, Greg Fischer of Louisville and Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/cities-urban-policy-mayors-survey-revitalization-us-214151#ixzz4GqYD3oSH
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